- Moving Together: A Caribbean Journey to Global Health Transformation from JaMoves
On March 27, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., on a sunny day of great anticipation on a small island in Dominica, as chair of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSAD), a subcommittee of CARICOM, I was inaugurated for a meeting to consider adoption. I gave the signal to start. The Caribbean Moves initiative is a regional response to lifestyle-related diseases (NCDs), which are responsible for over 70% of deaths in the Caribbean region. It was the culmination of a Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)-led consultancy, funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, that integrated physical activity and nutrition programs under one umbrella called Caribbean Moves. . The report is ready for presentation and adaptation by Caribbean communities is anticipated.
I was asked to give one of the presentations by Dr. Joy St. John, director of CARHA, and for good reason. Jamaica took pride in this initiative as the country that conceptualized this branded behavior change response to combat the scourge of non-communicable diseases caused by lifestyle habits. As a people, we are influenced by our colonial experiences and the effects of increased globalization due to our consumption of high levels of ultra-processed foods, including excess salt, sugar, fat, alcohol, and tobacco, and insufficient physical activity. It has evolved from As a result, cases of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer are rapidly increasing. I needed a response.
Lifestyle changes
In 2016, as the newly appointed Minister of Health (later Health and Wellness), the concept for a branded behavior change physical activity and nutrition program was born through small talk at Mona Dam and the Pacers Running Club. I was looking for a new approach to tackling lifestyle-related diseases that claim up to 80% of lives in this country. I believed at the time that the answer did not lie in prescriptions, but in the choices we made as individuals, communities, and countries. The concerns and concepts, names and branding that I clearly understood were done through collaboration with one of the craziest (creative crazy) yet brilliant creative thinkers I knew at the time. Jamaica Moves was born.
Brand your movements to match your culture (music and activities), eliminate vices, and serve only water. There's enough magic in music, dancing, running, hiking, and swimming. Caribbean culture can become healthier if we encourage people to practice healthier active lifestyles. Create a forum and they will come to participate. Next, let's measure the impact of exercise on your health. The message has been simplified. Proper nutrition and 30 minutes of exercise each day may save you a trip to the doctor.
However, for the JaMoves brand to continue down this path, it would need revitalization funding, and while the government process was supportive, it was not initially prepared to fund the concept, so Creatively packaged selected corporate brands as values to promote human health. We had some success there.
Almost eight years after the JaMoves concept was created through private sector partnerships and collaboration, we here witnessed the beginning of a regional consolidation of ideas that has endured through starts and stops, trials and triumphs. The mood was positive today, with CARICOM Ministers supporting a regional framework for the peoples of the Caribbean. I felt an unusual sense of pride in this leg of my journey.
Recommendation
While reading the brief in Dominica, we learned that eight years of JaMoves transformed into Caribbean Moves, endorsed by CARICOM leaders in Montego Bay, Jamaica in July 2018 and authorized at the start of the United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting. I remembered. A lecture on NCD prevention and management was held in New York on September 27, 2018. This concept is also supported by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, the British Commonwealth, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), and the University of the West Indies. .
Passion for this program is supported by small donations from institutions such as the local branch of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and with a lot of love and effort to create branded shirts and We created travel miles to support Central activities and startups. Christopher Nevis and his advice for startups in Barbados, Trinidad and Saint Lucia.
overcome challenges
But it wasn't always an easy road. The JaMoves concept was put on public trial as to how the concept was created, who owned the idea, how it was funded, and what the motivations were. Demands for interrogation and access to information made the path to the Caribbean move even more difficult. For a while, JsMoves was a symbol of sadness and disappointment for many. But we have moved forward, knowing that the road of goodwill is never paved with gold.
Today, recognition and adoption by the Caribbean Community meant it was all worth it. Regional institutions were established. It is up to us, as Caribbean leaders and people, to make it work. As COVID-19 has taught us, health and wellness are fundamental to social and economic progress.
need more
Caribbean governments must integrate lifestyle policies for national health and wellness to strengthen Caribbean Move, school nutrition, and eliminating trans fats. They must recognize the maintenance of parks and trails as a necessity for a healthy and healthy society. And we need to brand and package healthy living to counter the negative effects of unhealthy lifestyles and product branding and marketing.
As I reflected on my journey and the sacrifices of so many people, I revisited the proposal I had written that captured the concept of JaMoves as a global cause. I am confident that Jamaica and the Caribbean can lead the rest of the world on the path to sustainable mobility and balanced nutrition. I'm proud that this started. From JaMoves to Caribbean Moves and hopefully to the world! Let's keep moving!
Dr. Chris Tufton is Jamaica's Minister of Health. He can be contacted at: [email protected]
